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Arizona Women's Basketball Dominates Ohio State, 90-76

Tucson, Ariz. (Nov. 21) - Sophomore guard Candice Allen came off the bench for a career-high-tying 18 points to lead the Arizona women's basketball team to a 90-76 victory over Ohio State at home on Wednesday night.

The Wildcats opened the game with a 20-6 run over the first eight minutes, and Ohio State answered with 15-8 run to chop the lead to only eight (42-34) with a minute left in the half. The Cats got a trey from Allen, who had 12 first-half points, and a bucket from junior wing Krista Warren to take a 13-point (47-34) advantage into halftime.

The Buckeyes used a 13-6 run, fueled by a trio of three-pointers from junior DiDi Reynolds, to slice Arizona's lead to only six (57-51) at 13:15 in the second. The Cats answered with an 18-3 run that included a stretch of 10 unanswered points. Ohio State out-scored Arizona, 11-4, over the final three minutes of the contest, but it was too little, too late as the Cats improved to 2-0 on the season. OSU slips to 1-1.

Senior forward Elizabeth Pickney shot 8-for-8 from the free throw line en route to a game-high 24 points and seven rebounds. Fellow senior LaKeisha Taylor put up her first double-double of the season with 16 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, while grabbing a career-high four steals.

Warren put up 15 points and nine rebounds, while freshman guard Dee-Dee Wheeler had nine points and a game-high five assists off the bench. In addition to her 18 points, Allen also snagged a career-high five steals.

'We have goals for each game, and we added a goal to be a second-half team. We were tested by Ohio State. They are a good, very solid team,' said head coach Joan Bonvicini, who is in her 11th season at the helm of the Arizona program. 'We controlled the tempo, executed on offense, switched our defenses a lot, and our players adjusted well.'

Ohio State was paced by freshman guard Ashley Allen's 17 points, with junior forward Courtney Coleman adding 15 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Reynolds finished with 11 points and a trio of steals. Junior forward LaToya Turner wrapped up the double-digit scoring for the Buckeyes, with 10 points and six rebounds.

'We played a very good Ohio State team, but we had poise, defense, some tips, steals, layups, and we just had fun,' said Bonvicini. 'We played with confidence, and now with Notre Dame, the defending national champions, coming in here, we have two days to prepare for them.'

Arizona wraps up a three-game homestand on Saturday, Nov. 24, against defending national champion Notre Dame at 5 p.m. in the McKale Center.